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Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:04 am

Here is an argument I am having with my close misguided friend. Please help me with this simple question.

If you were driving down a hill covered in snow which technique would you use. Please explain why so I can help explain this one.

1. Put the car in Neutral and carefully use the brake. (his method)

2. Put the car in first and and use the brake as little as possible. (my method)

Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:30 am

there are no hills or snow where I live in florida.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:36 am

Putting a car in nuetral while going down a hill is always a bad idea, brakes heat up quickly and then stop working.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:44 am

my65vert wrote: there are no hills or snow where I live in florida.

Well, it snowed there recently but there's DEFINITELY no hills whatsoever in Floriduh! [-X

There may me a lump or some such but no hills! :lol:

Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:46 am

Any time that you can select a lower gear and let the engine/transmission do the work, it's usually the best way to go. Brakes lock up, which means the car skids or slides... not good. Low gear (with an appropriate amount of braking) gives you a slow, controlled descent. Ask any die-hard four wheeler about using the gearing to accomplish ascents and descents.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:51 am

njmedic3306 wrote: 2. Put the car in first and and use the brake as little as possible. (my method)

Correct.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:29 am

Colorado we have both snow and hills. As a previous school bus driver, ALWAYS use your gearing to control your speed on hills and ice.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:46 am

#2 on non icy pavement definitely. Although if the driver sucks at rev matching I would argue that #1 might be better on icy hills. I never coast in neutral though. Always in gear.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:48 am

I pretty much always let my engine slow me down when im going down hills. Going down one hill in town this winter though I had the car in either 2nd or 3rd gear and i came to a ice patch the rear rear tires started sliding. So leaving it in gear is not always the best option.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:54 am

Rustfree is right.
There is no absolute answer to the question. On extreme glare ice on a steep down grade there are instances where the lowest gear might still propel you too fast at idle. Other factors---front wheel drive or rear wheel?
ABS or traditional brakes? Standard transmission or automatic?
The bottom line is this: if it is too slippery for a driver's skill level, he should stay home.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:32 pm

Having driven a wrecker for 5 years, and having leared from a guy that owned the business and drove wreckers for about 45 years. He taught me to stop at the top of the hill put the vehicle in neutral and slowly release the brake pressure (foot feed not handbrake) till the vehicle begins to roll. then hold that pressure till you get to the bottom of the hill. I have used this method for about 20 some odd years in wreckers,tractor trailers, and my own personal vehicles and have never had an accident (knock on wood). His reasoning behind using this metod is if you have the car in gear and apply the brake you are both pulling (going) and stopping at the same time so you don't have control over the vehicle.

Greg

Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:58 pm

Sounds like a Myth Busters challenge. :lol:

Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:59 pm

hammer it 1/2 way down, when at the bottom pull the ebrake.

j/k

Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:24 pm

Most cars do most of the braking with the front wheels. On the vast majority of cars, you steer with the front wheels.
On any slippery surface, be it ice, be it rain or snow, you MUST have the front wheels rotating. Non Rotating wheels do not steer a car. They just slide along straight ahead even if you have them turned at an angle.
Again, the steering wheels MUST rotate.

That being said if you are depending upon your brakes coming down a slippery hill, as soon as you touch them, the front wheels can stop rotating. No rotation, no control.

Leave the car in gear and allow the engine to brake you down.

The trouble with an automatic is that it is ALWAYS in gear and trying to go so things get a tad more difficult to control in slippery situations.

If I must slow down in a slippery situation I will take my foot off the gas and GENTLY apply the hand brake, don't lock up the wheels but drag them. This provides some braking action and also maintains steering control.

Your friend, well he is WRONG!!! and will someday regret his habit!

I'm in NJ, what's he drive so I can watch out for him?!? Then again, he isn't alone, these highways are COVERED with crazies!!!

Dave

Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:58 pm

With automatic's you can down shift manually.
OH, Wait, the new transmissions don't have a 2nd and low, only D N R P.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:05 pm

Option #2. Hope your friend has good insurance.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:17 pm

pyrOman wrote: my65vert wrote: there are no hills or snow where I live in florida.

Well, it snowed there recently but there's DEFINITELY no hills whatsoever in Floriduh! [-X

There may me a lump or some such but no hills! :lol:

It didn't snow in central florida (tampa)...

Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:26 pm

I have had rare occasions where I have put an automatic transmission in REVERSE and then held the vehicle back with a little throttle to keep the front wheels from locking (thus not steering). Extreme, I know, but in over fifty years as a licensed driver (some years driving upward of 75,000 miles)I have never had as much as a fender-bender.
Like I said before, there is no correct answer that fits every situation.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:36 pm

djkeev wrote: Most cars do most of the braking with the front wheels. On the vast majority of cars, you steer with the front wheels.
On any slippery surface, be it ice, be it rain or snow, you MUST have the front wheels rotating. Non Rotating wheels do not steer a car. They just slide along straight ahead even if you have them turned at an angle.
Again, the steering wheels MUST rotate.

That being said if you are depending upon your brakes coming down a slippery hill, as soon as you touch them, the front wheels can stop rotating. No rotation, no control.

Leave the car in gear and allow the engine to brake you down.

The trouble with an automatic is that it is ALWAYS in gear and trying to go so things get a tad more difficult to control in slippery situations.

If I must slow down in a slippery situation I will take my foot off the gas and GENTLY apply the hand brake, don't lock up the wheels but drag them. This provides some braking action and also maintains steering control.

Your friend, well he is WRONG!!! and will someday regret his habit!

I'm in NJ, what's he drive so I can watch out for him?!? Then again, he isn't alone, these highways are COVERED with crazies!!!

Dave

Make good sense. No snow or icy driving for me here in sunny Southern California, but I have applied the same theory when driving off road on loose sand and gravel. I should have made the connection earlier. #-o

Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:40 pm

Quote: 2. Put the car in first and and use the brake as little as possible. (my method)

Thats what I would do, use the compression of the motor as well as the brakes to help you keep a safe speed.